


A Friendly Face

by StardustSky



Series: Christmas Drabbles 2018 [1]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017), Ze carioca (comics)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:25:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17128172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustSky/pseuds/StardustSky
Summary: When Nestor was invited to a Mickey Mouse’s big Christmas party along with Zé, he thought it would have been more fun. But except for some amazing decorations and a nice Christmas ambience, Nestor’s contentment with the party quickly disappeared.





	A Friendly Face

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up really liking writing this story and exploring the possible interaction between Fethry and Nestor in the Ducktales (2017) universe. 
> 
> I hope that you can enjoy reading it! ♥ Have happy Holidays!

Nestor rubbed his arm anxiously, fidgeting in place.

He felt out of place and lonely in a room filled with cheers and laughter.

When he was invited to a Mickey Mouse’s big Christmas party along with Zé, he thought it would have been more fun. He heard many good things about how grand and fantastic this party was…

But except for some amazing decorations and a nice Christmas ambience, Nestor’s contentment with the party quickly disappeared.

The fact that he didn’t have any friends except for Zé made it difficult for him to feel included. José’s friends were very kind of course, but there was so much about them that he didn’t know and it made it difficult for him to follow their conversation.

And since he didn’t know a lot of English too, it was challenging for him to make small talk with other party guests.

So far, he somehow ended up owing Scrooge McDuck five dollars (plus interests), accidentally dropped punch on a lady with an expensive dress and almost immediately crashed into the giant Christmas tree as he tried to run away from said lady.

He was ready to go home now…and not just back to his hotel room, he wanted to go back **_home._** To **_Brazil_**. He felt like he overstayed his welcome in America.

“One more day…One more day…” He told himself as a mantra to help him stay calm. Tomorrow, he will leave and go back to Brazil and everything will be better, he comforted himself.

But for now, he _needed_ to leave this crowded place.

Trying to seek some quiet, he ended up sneaking into the kitchen without anyone noticing.

Once he stepped inside, he realised that it was empty and therefore probably off limits to guests. The lights were off, the room being only illuminated by small festive Christmas lights around the countertops. The crow wanted to avoid any trouble, but the silence of the room contrasting the loud atmosphere of the party, was soothing to him and so, decided to stay just for a few minutes.

He promised to get a glass of water and then leave. Nestor wasn’t sure where Zé was, but he thought of sending him a text message to let his friend know that he is leaving and taking a taxi back to the hotel.

Right after finishing typing the text on his cell and hitting the send button, something peculiar caught his attention.

There was a tiny aquarium on the countertop containing what seemed to be one single krill….

Nestor squinted his eyes, he was unsure if he was seeing correctly. The low lighting made it difficult for him to see clearly. After all, why would there be one _single_ krill here of all places.

“Be careful with Sylvia, please! She is pregnant!”

Nestor jumped at the voice. The first thing he noticed was a duck with a red hat who slid right next to him and started to gently caress the aquarium.

“Sorry about that, Sylvia is a little grumpy recently…” The duck explained. “So I thought that bringing her to the party would lighten up her mood…but I think it made her worse.” He now thought, glancing worryingly at the creature, “She is probably missing her friends. Aren’t you sweetie?” He asked the crustacean, gentleness in his voice.

Nestor blinked at the scene. He didn’t understand what was happening and he thought perhaps he shouldn’t ask. Perhaps, he should just leave and pretend that nothing ever happened. But before he was even being able to move, the duck’s attention was on him again.

“Hello there! Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself! My name is Fethry, I am Donald’s favourite cousin!” He took hold of Nestor’s hand and give it a friendly shake. “Happy to meet you! And Happy holidays!”

Nestor was still surprised, but the friendliness of the duck was reassuring to him. He mostly had been ignored for the entire evening and the conversation he had were with polite people feigning interest in him... Fethry was the first stranger here who had been so genuinely sympathetic to him.

He had no heart to just leave now.

“Thank you,” Nestor replied with a small smile. “I am Nestor. Zé’s best friend…Nice to meet you.”

“Zé?” Fethry asked.

“Zé—”He stopped realising that he was confusing the other. “I mean José Carioca...” He then realised that perhaps only few people actually knew José.

And with this realisation, Nestor felt really self-conscious. He was only here because of Zé and if people didn’t know his friend, then he shouldn’t expect someone to know him, or be interested in knowing him, in this case.

The feeling that he did not belong at this party came back.

“N-Nothing…” Nestor moved his arms dismissing his prior conversation. “Have a happy holiday.” He waved at the friendly duck, his way of saying that he was going to leave.

Fethry raised a brow, but a smile was still on his face.

“Are you going to leave already? But you aren’t going to leave like this, are you? It’s very cold outside. They say it’s the beginning of a snow storm!”

Nestor stopped in his track.

“Just my luck.” He groaned. This was another thing that he didn’t appreciate; the cold temperature. The weather changed rapidly here. He should have worn something with more layers or warmer than one sweater to fight against the cold. But before leaving, Zé convinced him that it would be a warm night…Since José knew better about America than him, Nestor had trusted his friend wholeheartedly…And now he regretted it and didn’t know why he even believed José in the first place…

But facing the concerned looks from Fethry, Nestor offered an awkward smile instead of the grimace he wanted to express.

“It’s ok…I will be fine…”

“I think you should stay a while longer until the storm calms down.” Fethry said with honesty. “Oh, Sylvia and I can keep you company in the meantime…and we’ll make hot cocoa!” He rapidly ran toward the upper shelf to get a bag of the product. “It’s been so long since I had some nice hot cocoa!”

Nestor was shocked that the duck just made himself at home and was taking mugs from someone else’s kitchen without hesitating. However, it was true that they were guests…and the host did tell them to act like at home...

Fethry saw that the crow didn’t budge or didn’t seem as excited as he was, then added. “Or maybe if you really must leave, I can knit you some a scarf…” Fethry suggested.

Nestor still had a lot of questions...but decided to stay.

After all, he surely didn’t want to go outside in the cold and he definitely could go for a cup of hot cocoa. Besides, Fethry’s kindness was very welcoming, and he had to admit it was mostly that what mostly convinced him to stay.

After waiting for the water to boil, Fethry offered a mug to Nestor and sat on the floor, back rested against the kitchen counter. Nestor thought it was peculiar, but didn’t complain and did the same. The duck put Sylvia’s aquarium in front of them, giving Nestor a chance to observe the krill, while they enjoyed the comfortable silence between them.

“So...you take care of them?” Nestor finally asked, pointing at the sea creature in the small aquarium.

“Of course. They are my friends! And friends take care of friends!”

Nestor offered a smile. It wasn’t what he meant when he asked this question. He was more wondering **_how_** come someone had to take care --or in this case befriend-- a krill. He did heard of eccentric pets in past, and was curious to know the story behind it, but as much as he wanted to, he didn’t further question it.

“My team and I are just that close I suppose,” Fethry responded with a shrug. “But I should have known better than to separate Sylvia from the others.” he reprimanded himself.

“A team?”

Fethry nodded, the worry in his eyes disappeared and it was replaced with excitement.

“Oh yes! There is so much to say about them!” He put his mug on the floor to rummage in his bag and took out his cellphone.

Scooting closer to Nestor, Fethry showed him picture of his team, which were actually pictures of a group of krill...honestly, Nestor didn't even know why he was surprised.

“This is Charles, then you have Cameron, Philippe, Fish Breath, Simone, Virgil, Beverly, Nicholas, Alistair, Benji, Dr. Krill, the ever-feisty Hans. **_And_** of course, Sylvia!” Nestor tried to follow as Fethry explained.

“It was before she got pregnant.” The duck specified. His eyes were sparkling as he spoke. “They are all fantastic colleagues and friends. And not featured here is Mitzy! I will take a picture and show her to you next time. Or maybe you will have the occasion to meet her in person? I bet she would love to meet you, she is…”He stopped, his gaze drifted to his mug, then took a quick sip of his almost forgotten cocoa.

“But ...maybe another time…I don’t want to bother you.” He said sheepishly. Sometimes people were not interested in the stuff he loved to ramble about...and he knew that his cousins always said it was ok for him to talk about his interests. But he didn’t want to bore his new friend, especially not at a fun grand party like this one.

“If you want, you can tell more…” Nestor replied, giving him back the picture. “I think it’s interesting.”

And these simple words were all it took for Fethry to beam.

While they finished their hot drinks, Fethry talked and talked of all kinds of stuff.

The conversation obviously started about krill, then one thing lead to another, and he was now reminiscing memories from when he was a kid and from his family. The duck didn’t seem like he was about to stop talking anytime soon. And Nestor tried to listen closely. He didn’t understand some things, but he noticed that Fethry’s gestures helped him understand better sometimes. And it was enough to keep him captivated.

“But enough talking about me and my team…and my family too!” Fethry rummaged through his bag once more and took a red scarf.

He remembered that he said he would knit something for his new friend earlier. But if Nestor needed to leave soon, then he promised to knit a scarf for him next time and give this one to him for now. He had been talking for so long without realising, and he wanted to know more about Nestor before they would part ways.

“What about you, Nestor?”  He offered the crow the scarf and enlaced it over his neck.

“Obrigado...”Nestor murmured, amazed by the generosity of the duck. And he felt so touched by the idea that Fethry remembered his name.

“You are not from around here, right?”

“No. I am from Brazil.” Nestor replied.

“Wow Brazil! You traveled from far away…” Fethry said almost in a dreamy look. “Then, Mitzy and I must visit Brazil one day,” He said with a determined tone as he glanced over at Sylvia. “Maybe I can bring everyone even! After Sylvia will give birth of course! And we will stop by to say ‘hi’ and catch up with our new friend.”

Nestor smiled, blushing into his scarf.

“Then I promise to be the best guide.” Nestor finally replied, already imagining how wonderful it would be to show Fethry around Brazil.

“Well I can’t wait for it then!” Fethry explained, he put an arm around Nestor’s shoulder, bringing him closer. “It will be a fun date!”

A date? It was simply a choice of words, Nestor knew that. But he felt strangely warm at the notion of it.

“Here, I will give you my phone number so we can stay in touch.” Fethry added, snapping Nestor out of his thoughts.

The crow nodded and took his cellphone out of his pocket.

“Oh! Puxa!” Nestor’s worries came back as he noticed his missed notifications on his phone. Zé sent him multiple texts in the past hour, wondering about him and where he was.

“What?”

“My friend is searching for me, he is going to leave… I think I should leave too…” Nestor mentioned, replying to Zé’s most recent text. He was still hoping that he could take a cab with Zé and spare a few bucks.

He looked over at Fethry...now he didn’t want to leave however. He wished he would have met him earlier today at the party, the evening would have been much better.

“Sorry, my friend and I will leave to go back to Brazil tomorrow…” He murmured, a bit sad.

“It’s ok! We can keep in touch!” Fethry reassured, pointing to his cellphone again. “Sylvia and I are happy that we were able to meet you!”

Nestor smiled kindly. “I am happy to meet you and Sylvia too.”

On that note, they rapidly exchanged their numbers and Nestor left to find Zé at the front door.

When Nestor arrived outside, he saw the parrot waiting in the cold, but his friend didn’t seem to be bothered by it, which surprised him.

“Desculpe pela espera!” Nestor said rapidly the second he arrived.

“Nestor! I was searching for you. Onde voce estave? Esta bem?” José asked, a slight tone of worry in his voice, as he saw Nestor seemingly stressed. “Are you feeling better?”

The crow nodded, he did mention earlier via text that he wasn’t feeling well due to anxiety. Funny enough, these feelings left as soon as he met Fethry.

But before he could respond, José noticed the red scarf. “Oh, you didn’t have this before...”

“I met someone in the kitchen. We have been talking since then. He was the one who gave this scarf to me.” Nestor said with a smile, his face started to blush, but didn’t notice it. “It is really soft.”

José chuckled wholeheartedly.

Noticing Nestor raised brow, he explained. “Ha, Nestor, meu amigo! I didn’t think you were one to hook up at a Christmas party!”

Nestor’s face rapidly coloured and his eyes widened. “ _NÃO!_ It wasn’t a hook up! We _just_ talked, nothing more!”

“Sure,” José smirked… it was a familiar smirk that meant that he definitely did not believe him. “Come on, let’s not miss our taxi.”

Nestor was about to protest more, but heard a notification sound coming from his cellphone. Taking it, he saw that it he already received a text from Fethry with the simple words ‘See you soon’.

And Nestor smiled, completely forgetting what José said before.

In the end, this party wasn’t entirely bad.


End file.
